DRC

All posts tagged DRC

This weekend came at a good time..it was time to get out of the city..I always need a change of scenery after a bit and be with nature..makes me feel at peace..makes me feel small in comparison to the greater things in life..humbles me

I’ve grown up in Congo but haven’t really seen the touristic part of it. Really when you think Congo, Tourism isn’t the first thing that jumps to mind. Most people are there for business and we do have the Gorillas on the East but it’s not always that safe to get there and we do have scientists looking into the dense jungles and the fascinating Congo River.

This weekend I’d get to possibly see a touristic side of Congo. Now first rule about any road trip in Congo, is make sure that you have four wheeler drives. The road’s going to get bumpy at some point and the potholes will get to you. Also travel with people who know the country, it’s always good to have someone from the country who knows how the country works. It took us about an hour to get out of the city and into the real Congo. I guess that’s the beauty of living in Africa – not as much has been developed and so there is still a lot of greenery.

The roads were pretty smooth until the last 40 km which was one of the bumpiest rides I’ve ever been . I swear there were points when I was just closing my eyes and hoping for the best. The guy who was driving didn’t really take it upon himself to go any slower..it actually seemed like he sped up..

Passing through villages

night driving…

Upon finally arriving there I was pleasantly surprised at the organization of the place. I’ve never seen the tourist side of it but there were many many tents in lines – easily over 50 and then there were teepee like structures on the other side and then there were proper hotel rooms on another side. We were camping. Not camping camping – like mattresses in a tent and a proper bathroom with showers 🙂 Much to my delight. 🙂

I don’t have a pic of the tents but these are the teepee like structures…

Woohoo! Bathroomss

Everything was actually fully booked. It was a long weekend and it seemed like everyone wanted to go out and enjoy a bit of nature. I was pretty impressed at how full it was and just how active it was out there. We spoke to the owner of the hotels and teepees and just the management and he said how he wasn’t trying to attract those outside of Congo or foreigners but people from within. It wasn’t important to be dependent on outside forces but strengthen from within.

After having a bit of dinner on a charcoal by the water I headed off to bed..in my tent :).I woke up in the morning and went out to explore the place a bit before we all have breakfast together..

The place at dawn..

My first view of the falls and you can get to a point where you are standing right above the falls by climbing your way through the rocks.

rapidsss

check out the vegetation above the fallss…just thriving!!

If you look carefully at the end of the rainbow on the right and a little bit below you’ll see a bit of orange and red and those are people on the other side of the falls enjoying the mist.

After sitting at the top of the falls we hiked down to the other side of the falls so we could face the falls and enjoy the refreshing mist..

I remember one of the boys bending down to his sandal and slapping at his foot like something had just slithered in..Kind of scared me a bit..sometimes we forget that we are in the middle of an African jungle..literally..so anyways he smacked at his foot violently..and then slipped of his sandal …turned out..they were ants that were biting him..he was ok though..

After looking at these pictures I remember what I thought while looking at them:

How small we are in the grand scheme of things. If we got caught up in those waters we don’t have a chance to get out other than some miracle. The power of nature is stronger than any person and any amount of people put together. Water is so delicate yet so powerful .

The falls are actually used to produce hydroelectricity for surrounding areas.

On the other side of the falls!

For all the flower lovers out there…

Yup so there’s probably a side of the DRC you didn’t know much about 🙂 A little bit of adventure and fun in the heart of Africa:)

I must admit that when I first came to the DRC from Tanzania – my heart wasn’t here. It was difficult to be in a car with little kids knocking at my window and not knowing how to react. Suddenly I felt above them. In Tanzania I was walking on the streets and there was no clear indication that I was even in a position to have a car. It was hard because in Tanzania I was constantly surrounded by people who were changing the world day by day ( I felt) and we saw direct results in the sense that you had an orphan at the school whose full fees was paid and got to eat, drink and sleep comfortably for at least 9 months.

Here I started to get involved with the local charity twice a week but also wanted to work because at the end of the day – you need to support yourself. It’s nice to think you can go and volunteer your whole life or just travel the world but you need to have the money to travel and it’s nice to earn your own money. It was tough to work at first -not because of the work hours or anything but just not feeling like I was making that difference. That high that I got every day in Kibaha was no longer there.

As time went on though and I started to understand how business worked in Congo I saw the difference that was being made by people who invested in this country.People need jobs here – there is no doubt about that. 10 million people live in Kinshasa.

If a Multi-national ( Coca Cola, Vodacom(phone service provider), Airtel(phone service provider) comes tothis country or someone even brings in an international product – they provide the infrastructure (factories) and advertising costs that people here don’t always have the money for.After that, people get employed directly into the company so that it operates properly. There are those who work in the factories, then the truck drivers who deliver the product and then there are even the shop managers who sell the product wholesale.These are just the people who are directly employed by the company. Then the people it affects indirectly – If it’s Vodacom or Airtel for example, there are the street vendors who sell recharge vouchers on the road. That is their income for a day that helps feed their families. In essence anyone can go buy those vouchers, or crates of Coca Cola and sell them on the street and therefore finding a way to earn a decent income.Then there is even the customer who benefits- if it’s a good product you’re allowing them to be able to experience an international product and if it provides competition to other companies – means they get more value for their money.

Being part of this – You are constantly meeting clients to see if they are facing any problems you can help with and how to increase their sales. I’ve watched people who just buy not that much of a product to making this product their main selling item. The other day I met one of these clients who went from just selling things on the street to saving and then getting his own shop and now he has 5 shops that sell a variety of things. He met me for the first time and welcomed me into this area of work and he said to me in French – “We have to help each other because without you – our business will not survive and without people like me your business will not survive.” And it was absolutely true. We are a team.

Small Kiosks of the Huge Companies

I never realized how many people can be affected though. Even when one of my friends came to work for his dad one of the workers from the company (who maintained quite a low rank – he cleaned the office everyday ) said to him, ” I’m so glad you are done your studies and you have come to work and help maintain this company . After all We have kids too and need to support them to make sure they go to school so we need these jobs.” I smiled.Every person mattered and every person is affected. Every person you employ is that starfish you throw back into the Ocean.

At the end of the day anyone can come and approach a company and ask if they can sell their product. They don’t need to buy a whole bunch just enough for them to be able to sell and get enough money to bring home. Like this anyone can really learn to support themselves in a sustainable manner. This is the “teaching the man to fish” way vs “giving a man a fish.”

By also being part of a company everyone has an opportunity to rise in the ranks and learn different things. For example one of the factory workers may show potential and then he is put in charge of a shop where he starts doing accounting and selling the product. Papa Theo (we say Papa as a sign of respect) ,who was my driver as a kid, got a bit older, and now he works in an air conditioned office taking stock. There is always room for growth.

Papa Theo!

There are different aspects to development. Different ways to help it happen. Business is a great way to make things happen. You give that father a means to send his kids to school without feeling like he got anything for free. If you sponsor a kid that’s nice but then they are dependent on that for the next year..it’s not always that sustainable.

Every person in society matters and contributes to the economy and the only way to Grow is to do it TOGETHER.

OK – So here’s an actual attempt – I don’t know what the last blog was – I have bad writing days – bear with me

So when I tell people I’m going to the Congo for my holidays or that I grew up in Congo, it’s sure to raise eyebrows. Isn’t there a war there? Is it safe? When you say Congo – I’m not sure what people think – I guess war or really the dark heart of Africa. It’s kind of mysterious – the Congo – it has Africa’s second largest river that has all kinds of myths and stories attached to it – none of which I am well –read enough to answer. I watched something on National Geographic this summer on the Congo River and it has the weirdest of creatures dating back to the longest of times. It has the rainforests and the bonobos and the gorillas. Unfortunately, I can’t say I’ve explored much of Congo – oh and when I’m talking about Congo – I’m talking about the DRC. Right. So sadly I cant say I’ve seen much of it – Yet. Security is a huge issue – on the eastern side there are still bouts of violence left over from the Rwandan war. I know – you thought that was over – no – it’s just spilled over to the Eastern Congo. Eastern Congo is also where the gorillas are and apparently its been opened up now – as in the reserves -.

I grew up in a city called Kinshasa – it’s the capital and on the Western part of the huge country. It is densely populated and has a population of about 10 million – if I am not mistaken.French and Lingala are the languages that are spoken here. Almost everyone speaks French here and anyone who needs to communicate here needs to speak French. English will not get you by – and Lingala is the local local language – which will make you one of them J Knowing the local local language is always an asset – people probably don’t rip you off as much and you get to laugh and have fun and be one of them – For example : when I was in Tanzania I would prefer speaking my basic Swahili than English . If I spoke English I would automatically be seen as a tourist and treated as one – ( even though Kinshasa doesn’t have many tourists ) still laughing with the locals and having them help you with their own language makes it a lot more homely.

The one change that has occurred here over the years is that roads are finally being built. Five years ago – only manual cars would be driven here – today automatic cars are being driven here because there has been a fixing of the roads and the cars don’t get ruined as quickly. It’s because of an agreement made between the Chinese and Congolese governments and yeah – roads are being built

My African Sunset

Poverty is much more in your face over here too – even compared to Dar es Salaam. In Dar, there were people who would sit on the side of the pavement and ask you for money – mostly women with young children – elder woman. Here , at every traffic light the minute your car stops – 6 kids come up to your window and knock at it asking for money. The new traffic lights are killers – I think its like 84 seconds ( I didn’t count – the traffic light counts down) you have to wait at the traffic light and have to have kids after kids knocking at your window.

I feel like a stranger sometimes – I didn’t before but now that I feel like I want or need to do something constructive here and am not sure exactly where to start – yet today I finally decided to commit and so I went to see the man who runs it and put my name down for a few hours – I figure I’ll start small – teach a little bit of English and then get my footing around the place. So I decided to do a little bit of Friday and a little bit of Saturday ( because I am working and cant really take off as I choose – or shouldn’t ). Yet he told me to start next week which made me a little edgy because I am starting to feel a lot of unrest within me – I waited too long – I usually do with everything – I wait till I’m bursting and then decide something- I try to be patient with myself or I guess I try to put off things because I get comfortable I guess and then like normal people –get jittery about leaving another comfort zone – even though mine change so much. For example Did you know I booked my flight for Tanzania a week before I left or that when I extended my flight booking for coming to Congo from Tanzania I did it the day before and that I booked kili 4 days before I left? So when I went to the man in charge of this insittuion and he told me to wait a week – I kept asking him if there was anything I could do tomorrow or the next day because suddenly I needed to do something in this field.

When my work associate came to pick me up – he was with another one from Angola as well and he was really interested in philanthropist projects and asked if it was ok if we went to the school to check it out . ( I had met with the founder in the mosque that he had built and where he now resides – he is also working on a hospital ) and so we went to see the school again to show him. We arrived a little before noon and the first batch of kids were leaving – some were eating – some were leaving and while the founder spoke to the guy from Angola I watched the kids and just the food being distributed and I really don’t know where I was in thought and then my work associate took me aside and he tells me ( he doesn’t know me that well ) – “ you know you shouldn’t think so much about this – you see I come here and I see it but I can see that you are thinking very deeply and it’s touching your heart too much – it shouldn’t affect you so much. I can see that your face has completely changed since you entered this place and that even your mannerisms have changed.” I think he meant it in a – don’t get caught up in this way – but weirdly enough I took it as a good thing. Cause it just affirmed what I now know – this is my line of work – this is what I want to do forever. This is what my heart beats for. But its true – I haven’t felt like myself for 3 weeks – well for 1 ) I am out of the Kibaha surroundings and can see the changes that have occurred now that I have been in touch with my “normal world” for a long enough period to see if the changes have a chance of staying but I’ve felt an emptiness since I’ve left – I guess not being so in touch with the local public causes that emptiness. Other than giving money on the side of the road – I haven’t had a chance to give or find out what they need or really make a lasting difference or try chip at that wall that never ended in Tanzania – that wall hasn’t even appeared yet – maybe I’m just painting on it now – which is really nothing at this point. ( Excuse the metaphors – they make sense in my head but if they don’t to you – feel free to ask :D) I’m kind of beating myself up about not getting involved earlier but there was fear in my heart lol – I can only change surroundings ever so often and I guess I need to give myself buffer time – or I’m just being chicken – maybe I should own up 🙂

I’m kind of torn right now between working and being a responsible adult and saving some money and just following my heart and traveling and seeing more development projects – for now I’m trying to sit still and do both – discover my very own country and invest and its projects and work. Following your heart – sigh that’s a whole new blog topic on its own 😀 Its everyone’s advice for everything – it seems – just follow your heart – Sometimes I feel like your heart murmurs something – before I left for Tanzania I was having serious doubts about whether I was doing the right thing – that same responsible adult thing was in my mind but I decided to go with it – and the more I listened to my heart – the louder it seemed to speak- it came to a point where I swear it felt like all I could feel was my heart and soul. I was in a place where I literally just had a mattress in my room and shelves – no mirror – nothing – but I could feel my heart beat like I had never felt it. It was way beyond my body – I couldn’t feel anything else – just my heart soaring – it was amazing – I have never felt so alive in my life. So back to normal life – and its not a crash into this life – thank god I’m still in Africa where I can get involved into this kind of work and be reminded of the greater problems of life and attempt not to get caught up in the smaller things. It’s a slow descent on a graph but not a drastic dip at all. It’s weird but I seem to have really calmed down (in the sense that most people know me as having a crazy personality but I haven’t seen that side of me in quite a long time ) and patience may – I repeat MAY have become an attribute of mine. So here I am trying to listen to my heart and my mind – my mind is in control now but I know it’s a matter of time till my heart speaks louder. Inshallah 😀

Posts navigation

Email Subscription

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.